Change is hard to do, and change in your lifestyle—especially when it pertains to exercise and eating well—are huge. Teaching yourself “new tricks,” if you will, is no mean feat. The good news is that you don’t have to do it alone. Making yourself accountable is a great way of achieving your goals. Here’s a list of 5 things you can do to make yourself more accountable to the health-related goal you have in mind.

1.  Add it to the calendar.

Are you planning on going on a run every morning, or trying to make that yoga class? Adding your work out plans to your calendar makes it so much easier to follow through with them. Not only will you have a visual reminder of what you’re planning to do, you will be less likely to ignore it, especially if you set an alarm for the event.

2. Keep a log.

If you’re working on eating better, a log is a great way of tracking your progress. Writing down everything you eat for a day is a good way to practice being aware of what goes inside your body. Include all you consume—even the candy you’ve been taking from reception. This way, you’ll have an idea of what food you like to snack on that might not be so good for you, and what times of day you’re most likely to reach for certain food.

3. Tell your family your goals.  

First of all, congratulations on having a goal! That is the first step. You should tell your family about it not only because it’s really exciting that you’re making changes in your life, but because your family will naturally hold you accountable to your plans.

4. Plan a little (or big) treat for yourself.

We’ll say it again: making changes is hard. Achieving your goals is an accomplishment worth rewarding! A good way to go about this is have a set plan, and commit to sticking to it for a certain amount of time. If you make it through, buy yourself a fancy dinner or watch that movie on your Netflix queue. You deserve it.

5. Remember why you started in the first place.

You’ve been putting in a lot of hard work, and you’re getting tired, or it’s becoming more challenging than you expected. Instead of handing in the towel, take a moment or two to think about why you set your goal in the first place. Is it for health reasons? Because you’ve always had a dream of running a marathon? Remember why you began, and why this goal is important. After all, the most important thing is that you stay accountable to yourself.